Parking Facilities v. City Miami Beach

Appellant land owner in the City of Miami Beach sought to compel the defendant city to issue a building permit allowing it to construct a multiple level parking garage with stores on the ground floor and facilities within for the sale of gasoline, oil and grease and similar garage service. The building was to be constructed on land located within a district zoned by the defendant city as "REE multiple-family district." The lower court directed the issuance of the building permit to construct the parking garage and held that portion of the ordinance, infra, limiting and restricting such building to the parking of automobiles to be unconstitutional and void, holding with respect thereto "there is no reasonable factual basis for the conclusion reached by the City Council that the general welfare of the City of Miami Beach required that multiple level automobile parking garages be limited and restricted to the parking of automobiles." With respect, however, to the provision in the ordinance under attack which excluded stores from such building, the court held that such provision was valid and constitutional and "not violative of any right of the plaintiff." The appellant land owner has appealed from that portion of the decree adverse to it. No cross-assignments of error were taken by the defendant city, hence the sole question before us is whether the ordinance which allows the construction of a parking garage in a multiple-family district but excludes therefrom stores is a valid and constitutional exercise of the police powers of the municipality.